Government Operations committee  Yes, but—

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, the Black business procurement pilot is something that we initiated in January. We undertook 12 procurements that were looking to be targeted towards Black Canadian businesses in Canada. They were undertaken across the country. Of those 12 procurements, we have one t

Government Operations committee  A number of different approaches are used by different industries. Some will use self-attestation or self-identification. Others will rely on third party certification bodies, such as the CAMSC, which is the Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council. Different approache

Government Operations committee  That's solely within the purview of ESDC. To refer to a previous question from another member of the committee, it's about obtaining identity information on the owners or managers of companies. In terms of specific employees within companies, that would be under Employment and So

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, I would say two things. First, in terms of tracking, there is a distinction or a difference between indigenous businesses and indigenous companies versus what I'll call other under-represented groups, and I hope that's okay. Because of the procurement strategy for abor

Government Operations committee  To tell you the truth, I have no idea. I don't know when that target was set. Obviously, if that target is exceeded, maybe we should look at whether it's enough—

Government Operations committee  The databases are very important. Right now, we are having trouble identifying the participation rate of underrepresented groups and the number of contracts awarded to firms owned by underrepresented individuals. So we are working to address gaps in two areas. First, we are buil

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the question.

Government Operations committee  The notes underneath the departmental report in terms of the indicators for women-owned and indigenous businesses indicate the fact we're either looking to be able to establish a baseline including—

Government Operations committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the question. If the chair will permit, I will have to come back with a written response on that.

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, there are a couple of different groups and organizations. We are able to consult with a number of national organizations through a supplier advisory committee. We can provide you with a list, in terms of—

Government Operations committee  Yes. This committee is not necessarily representative of every organization. There is Cando, which I will come back to in a second in terms of what that acronym stands for. It's the economic development officers organization of Canada, an indigenous group. We have the Black Ca

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, there has been progress made, but I think that some of the outcomes we're trying to achieve are fairly significant outcomes, in terms of increasing the participation of under-represented groups.

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, I can't speak to whether there was a target earlier. The first time I became aware of 5% as a target was in the mandate letter that was provided to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement in December 2019.

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, I'll say a couple of things on the departmental results report that was most recently issued. There are indicators in terms of increasing the participation of indigenous businesses, as well as a separate indicator in terms of increasing the participation of women-own